Eddy Merckx has not shied away from giving his assessment of some of the best riders in the peloton today, saying he would not say Mark Cavendish was the best sprinter of all time.
He also believed Remco Evenepoel was missing some dimensions from his performances because he turned pro too early, adding Wout van Aert was a real champion.
Cavendish won four stages of the Tour de France this year, and the green jersey. That took his career stage win tally on the race to 34, equal with Merckx's record.
"I wouldn't say Mark is the greatest sprinter of all time, but he is one of the greatest," Merckx said of Cavendish in an interview with Eurosport.
"There have been so many top sprinters who have also won many stages. But he's a really nice guy and I wouldn't have had a problem with it if he had beaten my record. I have a lot of appreciation for Cavendish."
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Merckx, who is considered by many as the best rider in the history of the sport, this year questioned why Evenepoel was selected by Belgium for the Worlds as he believed the young rider would not work for others in the team.
“I admire his character,” he has now said of Evenpoel. “He is a rider of great class and very strong. The problem is that he turned pro too early and skipped the other categories.
"As a result, he misses something in his preparation. I hope he makes up for that in the coming years and shows that he is a super champion.”
He was much more resolute in his praise for Van Aert, pointing out he had won races on all kinds of terrain, as any big champion should.
"He won Gent-Wevelgem, Amstel and a stage over Mont Ventoux in the Tour de France. He is super strong for a non-climber, a real champion,” he said.
